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Met mascots still a hit with this fan

Regular readers of this column may know that I am a fan of the New York Mets. I watched their first game back in 1963 in living black and white on WOR via my hometown’s brand new cable system. The Mets lost to the St Louis Cardinals beginning a losing streak that extend to 9 loses before Jay Hook threw a five hitter on April 23 to beat the Pirates 9 – 1. They would go on to win 39 more games that season while setting a record for the most losses by a team in the 20th Century. This season, despite high expectations, the Mets have managed an eleven game losing streak. Being a Mets fan ...

Putting perspective on referendum

Regarding the recent commentary, “Fredonia referendum is likely illegal,” I would like to address the question of the referendum in the mid 1980s regarding Village Hall removal and replacement. I was village attorney at the time. The referendum on demolishing Village Hall was authorized by petition of the required number of qualified voters (electors) of the village.The village was not required by law to have mandatory referendum on the issue. The referendum was a permissive referendum. Permissive referendum means the bond resolution to finance the demolition of Village Hall and a ...

Performance ‘better than Broadway’

Recently, we attended a musical put on at the high school where our grandkids attend–in this case, Maple Grove. During the spring, musicals are being conducted at many of our local schools. As usual, I was “blown away” by the level of skill and professionalism displayed in the performance. It is hard to believe that kids ranging from 9th to 12th grade could put on such a performance. At intermission, I went up to the teacher and producer of the production and said: “This is better than Broadway,” and it was. There was a moving stage, a skilled ensemble playing the ...

A good barometer when talking ‘affordability’

“Affordability” is the word grabbing the headlines in public discourse these days. However, if affordability is a problem, it’s important to be clear about what exactly the problem is and what can be done. Gallup has new polling data noting that the “high cost of living continues to top Americans’ list of the most important financial problems facing their families.” Per Gallup’s new data, 31% say “high cost of living/inflation” is the most important problem,” 13% say energy costs/oil and gas prices, 13% say “cost of owning or renting a home” and 8% say ...

There are reasons for referendum

I am writing in response to Don Michalak’s commentary in the OBSERVER (April 23) headlined “Fredonia referendum is likely illegal.” I would like to address some specific points. First, I want to thank the writer for openly stating that local officials must know basic municipal law. Even more so, the mayor, who, under our charter and New York state law, is responsible for the faithful execution of all laws and bylaws. During my four-year term, I was truly fortunate to work with two exceptional municipal attorneys, Sam Drayo and Dan Gard, who taught and guided me while ensuring ...

Fredonia appears on borrowed time

I have a favorite saying about history which goes against the common perception that it repeats. “The past is a foreign country. They do things differently there.” Author J.P. Hartley is saying that we might not understand events outside of the context of their times. Today’s context in the village of Fredonia is a question of sustainability in the face of multiple actions taken by the board of trustees Trying to understand these actions in isolation as singular occurrences brings another popular saying to mind, “It’s never about what it’s about”. Intentionally or ...